Monday, March 19, 2012

Healing Divisions

Broadbent's outburst was unexpectedly strident. He knows that -- in the end -- politics is about making deals. The question always is, what are the consequences down the road? Broadbent fears that the NDP will sell out its social democratic principles for power. Caplan feels that, until the NDP wins a majority, the party will not be able to put its principles into practice. Mulcair, he writes, has the "royal jelly" to make that happen:

He sees himself as a leader, feels himself to be a leader, can convince
others he’s a real leader. Strangely enough, this is not true of all
leadership candidates, but it’s an essential attribute. I find him a
natural leader. So do many of his peers, it seems. It can hardly be
insignificant that he’s won the endorsements of 43 of his fellow MPs,
more than the total of all his opponents combined.

Broadbent is not nearly as confident as Caplan is about Mulcair's leadership abilities:

Mr. Broadbent also wondered openly about Mr. Mulcair’s abilities as a
leader, namely in terms of maintaining cohesion among the large
101-member Official Opposition caucus. His comments echoed a concern
among NDP workers and supporters about Mr. Mulcair’s temper, which he
has carefully kept in check during the seven-month race.

I have no idea who will fill Jack Layton's shoes. But whoever wins will need to be a healer. A divided NDP furthers Stephen Harper's agenda.

About Me

A retired English teacher, I now write about public policy and, occasionally, personal experience. I leave it to the reader to determine if I practice what I preached to my students for thirty-two years.